Translating Metaphorical Expressions in Churchill’s Diary from English into Arabic

ترجمة التعابير المجازية في مذكرات تشرشل من الانكليزية الى العربية

اشرف عبد الرزاق سعيد الحسو     ومحمد نهاد احمد        

قسم الترجمة، كلية الآداب، جامعة الموصل

ملخص البحث

يتناول هذا البحث التحديات والحلول لترجمة الاستعارات الإنجليزية إلى العربية الموجودة في مذكرات ونستون تشرشل. تعد الاستعارات في كتابات تشرشل من الأدوات البلاغية المهمة التي تساهم في اثراء النص وتساعد على إيصال المفاهيم المعقدة والصعبة. ومع ذلك، بالنظرلاختلاف المعايير اللغوية والسياقات الثقافية والهياكل اللغوية بين اللغتين العربية والإنجليزية، فإن ترجمة هذه المصطلحات المجازية تمثل تحديات من نوع خاص. تبحث هذه الدراسة في إجراءات الترجمة المختلفة التي يتبناها المترجمون في نقل المعنى والتأثير لهذه الاستعارات مع الحفاظ على تأثيرها البلاغي في اللغة الهدف، بالاعتماد على نظريات الترجمة المجازية والتواصل بين الثقافات. وتبحث هذه الورقة ايضاً في المشاكل الشائعة التي تواجه ترجمة الاستعارات وتبحث في فعالية تقنيات الترجمة المختلفة في التقاط دقة المعنى والدلالات الثقافية الكامنة في التعبيرات المجازية. ويتم ذلك من خلال إجراء تحليل نوعي لثمانية مقاطع مأخوذة من مذكرات تشرشل وترجماتها العربية. توفر النتائج رؤى حول كيفية ترجمة أسلوب كتابة تشرشل الفريد إلى اللغة العربية مع الحفاظ على العناصر البلاغية والتعبيرية للنص المصدر، مما يسلط الضوء على العلاقة المعقدة بين اللغة والثقافة والاستعارة في الترجمة. تضيف هذه الدراسة إلى فهمنا للترجمة المجازية وتؤكد على قيمة الابتكار اللغوي والحساسية الثقافية في التغلب على فجوات اللغة المصدر والهدف في الترجمة الأدبية.

الكلمات الافتتاحية: الاستعارة، الاستعارة المفاهيمية، اليوميات، تشرشل، التعبير المجازي

Introduction

    The origins of metaphor study are traced back to ancient Greece, especially Aristotle (4th century B.C.) (Taverniers, 2004). Aristotle illustrates that metaphor is an implied analogy based on comparison (Ortony, 1979). He added that metaphor has a stylistic and ornamental functions in a language (Katz, 1996). Also, He demonstrated that metaphor is employed as a rhetorical figure in a political discourse (Semino 2008). The Comparison Theory of Metaphor is based on his understanding of a metaphor.

 Metaphors means that meanings of sentences are transferred from one domain of reference into another domain. From his point of view, metaphors are part of dynamic and multi-dimensional process involves describing processes of understanding and production (Entzenberg, 1996, 1). A metaphor is a way of understanding the world as well as a rhetorical device (Zhang and Hu, 2009, 2). The process of creating images of certain topics in the mind of the audience is considered the main target of a metaphor. A metaphor is largely used in our daily language, and it is rare to find an expression that may be deserted from metaphorical expressions. Many researches have been conducted to define, classify, and explain a metaphor and the way in which various types of metaphors can be expressed in different languages. Languages use metaphors to add imagery, emotion, and color to the sentences. Metaphorical expressions are figurative language in which an idea is expressed by referring to something in an unrealistic way.

2. Metaphoricity: Definitions

Metaphor is a process in which the meaning is borrowed from one thing and transferred to another (Dawood and Sa’eed, 2005). A metaphor expresses one thing or idea by referring to another thing, and it differs in meaning from a literal one (Kennedy,1983; Ahmed, 2023, 3). According to Aristotle, naming something that is a part of something else is what metaphorically refers to. The transference may occur on the basis of analogy, from species to genus, from genus to species, or from species to species (Lan, 2005) (4). Metaphor is a comparison between two unrelated things. With metaphor, the quality of one thing is figuratively carried over to another, for example:

1. “We are talking about it after dinner to the Duce. ‘These men’ said, Mussolini, are not made of the same stuff as Francis Drake and the other magnificent adventures who created the Empire” (Churchill, 1948, 5). وقد تحدثنا الى الدوتش في ذلك فقال: ان هؤلاء الناس ليسوا من الطينة التي انبتت فرنسيس دريك وغيره من المغامرين البارزين الذين اقاموا الامبراطورية (شلبي،1970،ص178).

By bringing two unrelated elements into comparison, metaphor is a creativity and clarity to control everyday speech. Metaphor uses verbs such as “is and are” (John and Albert, 2006). For example:

2.They are after all the tired sons of a long line of rich men” (Churchill, 1948, 5).               انما هم الذرية المنحطة لسلسلة من الاثرياء المترفين (شلبي،1970،ص178).

3. Literal and Metaphorical Style

Figurative or non-literal language bases on the comparison between two different things to describe something using similes or metaphors; literal language means precisely what it says (Jaszczolt et al., 2003, p. 141).

Literal language differs from metaphorical language by committing to conventional standards for classification whereas the interpretation of metaphorical use and similarities is unconventional. When there is a gap between the intended meaning and the proposition expressed, this means that there is a metaphorical utterance used by the speaker (Goatly,1997, p. 14).

4. 4. The Structure of Metaphors

There are four elements in the structure of metaphor: Vehicle that conveys the meaning of a metaphor. The tenor represents what is being conveyed. The ground represents the connection between things being compared. Tension represents the difference between things. For example:

3.The unofficial responses from London were chilling” (Churchill, 1948, 5).   كان رد لندن غير الرسمي شديد البرودة (شلبي،1970،ص177).

The vehicle is “the unofficial responses from London”

The tenor is “chilling”.

The Ground is the connection between two things being compared.

Tension is the difference between two things.

 Understanding metaphors, which are nonliteral similarities, involves identifying the characteristics, or predicates, that the topic and the vehicle have in common. Both subjects have striking aspects in literal terms. The tenor shares the vehicle's key characteristics through analogies and similes. These corresponding elements that stand out for the vehicle but not the tenor, in Ortony's opinion, are essential for understanding a metaphor. (Tourangeau and Rips, 1991, p.453).

There are two domains for metaphors: source, or vehicle, and target, or topic. Information is transported from the vehicle to the target domain, which is impacted by the source domain (Holyoka and Stamenkovic, 2018, p. 641). 

5. Identification of Metaphors

The language can’t be identified as metaphorical unless we know the linguistic and contextual conditions with which we can interpret differently from its surrounding discourse, and the isolated word can't be identified as metaphorically or interpreted metaphorically. Kittay distinguishes between a first-order meaning and second-order meaning; the first one is what we have in our mind about the meaning of the word, and the second is obtained when the features and context of an utterance indicate that the first-order meaning is not appropriate (Kittay, 1984, 5a).

We can compare each word's basic and contextual meanings in a text to find metaphors. The word is designated as metaphor when two senses are sufficiently different from one another and if there is some kind of similarity that can be used to explain the relationship between the two different senses. If not, the term is designated as non-metaphorical (Bracewell, et al., 2013).

6. Interpretation of Metaphors

Metaphor identification provides more basic information about the characteristics found within the text, but Metaphor Interpretations and Explanations offer more detailed information on characteristics found outside of the text, such as: speech subjects, setting, and listeners (Imani, 2022, 6).

Lakoff and Johnson (1980, p. 4) illustrate that metaphors are recognized as a mental and not a literary device. Interpreting metaphors needs to map the structure of the source onto the structure of the topic by transferring predicates from the base to the target (Gentner and Clement, 1989, 7). For Lan, metaphor plays a mediator role between human understanding and worldview (Lan, 2005(4).

Imani, (2022, 6) classifies the interpretation of metaphors into the following four stages:

The first stage is interpreting conceptual metaphor tones. The context of the text and the tone of the paragraph in which the metaphorical expression is used will determine this level.

The second stage is interpreting conceptual metaphor purposes. Identifying speech purpose to determine conceptual metaphor purposes.  

The third stage includes mapping in which the Target Domain is mapped with experiences from the Source Domain in order to make it more concrete.

The fourth stage is interpreting conceptual metaphor topics in which the conceptual metaphors are grouped based on Topics. For example, the Metaphorical expression “Economic organizations are animals” from speech directed to the international audiences (Asian leaders).

Table 1: Interpreting Conceptual Metaphor (Tone and Purpose) (Imani, 2022, 6).

Table 2: Interpreting Metaphor Mapping (Imani, 2022, 6).

7. What is Diary?

The Oxford English Dictionary describes diaries as daily records of events or as daily records of matters affecting the writer personally. A diary is thought of as a personal document that provides an account of several facets of the diarist's day-to-day existence (Burt, 1994(8) Cardell, 2014) (9). Diaries are documents created by individuals to achieve personal and regular records. The simplest form of the diary is a log that contains activities and events without any comments, for example the public journals such as ships’ log books that may be officially or self-appointed (Alaszewski, 2006, 10). Krishnan and Lee (2002) (11) provide an example of how diaries are a personal observation of events documented over time. Writing diaries is regarded as a way to express oneself (Hooks,2020, 12 xiii). “Diaries offer their readers an honest and authentic account by ‘telling it as it is’ or they recount the events and feelings associated with those events whether they are guilt, anxiety or elation” (Alaszewski, 2006, 10).    

8. Writing Diaries

Journals, often known as diaries, are notebooks where people can record their feelings, ideas, and experiences. A person may keep a journal for a variety of reasons, including fear of forgetting things they have done or shyness around social situations. Though not necessarily every day, diaries should be written at least once a week (Klimova, 2015, 13). Vaseghi et al. (2014, 14) talk about how journaling might be a useful practice for improving second language writing autonomy. Dam (2001,15) reaches to the fact that journaling enhances students' writing abilities and motivates them to complete projects in a stress-free environment. People often journal about their thoughts and deeds without realising there is a readership (Zittoun and Gillespie, 2017, 16). 

9. Diaries as Qualitative Approach

According to Alaszewski (2006, 10), diaries have a set time for entries and a regular, dated order of events. Diaries are documents that have information added to them by the person in charge of them. Diaries are of two types solicited and unsolicited. (Alaszewski, 2006(10) Morrison, 2012 17). Unsolicited diaries are accessible with the pertinent data needed for the researcher's investigation, and the diaries' creation is beyond the researcher's control. The diarists or their friends and relatives may own such diaries. Unsolicited diaries may be preserved as historical records in archives.

10. Types of diaries

 Diaries can be written in different ways for different purposes such as: (Snowden, 2015: 36-41)

1. A travel diary: this type is a written log about the travel experiences.
2. Personal diary: This type of writing has been established since the advent of

    written language.

3. Reflective diary: this type is a space for us to pour out our feelings.
4. Anonymous diary: This type can be used to express feelings or experiences

    that they don’t want the surroundings to know about it.

5. Gratitude diary: this type is used to write a list of things that we are grateful

    for. 

6. Dream diary: this type is used to record our dreams regularly.
7. Health diary: this type is used as record of our overall health history.
8. Academic diary: This kind of record keeps ideas, thoughts, and duties for

     students to better organise their time in class.

9. Political diary: this type is written by a person who worked in political affairs by writing down all the political events and issues he experienced, or by a person writing down his political experience and writing its effects and repercussions.
10. Official memos: this type is used in companies and government institutions to document meetings, decisions, and directives.
11. Churchill’s Diary

  Born to an American mother and a British father, Winston Leonard Spencer Churchill was born on November 30, 1874, at the Duke of Marlborough's palace at Blenheim. The 7th Duke of Marlborough and British nobleman Lord Randolph Churchill was Winston's father. Nearly 200 years ago, John Churchill, the ancestor of Lord Randolph, made history for Queen Anne by leading numerous victorious military battles in Europe. His mother was American Jennie Jerome, whose ancestors served in George Washington's troops and battled for the independence of the American colonies.

Churchill was a master of the English and was active in the political field. After World War II he became Prime Minister of Great Britain. He has forty-three books in seventy-two volumes. He found in writing books a way to support himself and his family. Many of Churchill's books revolve around events of historical importance. One of his books is entitled “World War II” and it is full of historical and political events and supported by the metaphorical expressions that are the subject of our study (Gilbert, 1991, 18).

12. Translation of Metaphorical Expressions

Metaphors are figurative language that allow us to say one thing while implying another. The process of translating (SL) metaphors into (TL) metaphors is known as a metaphorical translation (Abdelmajd and Akan, 2018, 19). Aldanani provides evidence that while translating metaphors, translators rely more on communicative meanings than on the lexical meanings of words and expressions. He continues by saying that translators encounter a variety of difficulties when translating metaphorical expressions, including the inability to locate an equivalent in the target language, ignorance of the pragmatic and cultural distinctions between Arabic and English, and ignorance of the classification of idioms, specifically proverbs, metaphors, and similes (Aldanani, 20).

By looking into how political and historical writings are translated, Schäffner shows that there are five different kinds of metaphor translations (Schäffner,2004, p.126):

1- Source and target texts contain identical conceptual metaphors at the Macro-level.

2- To produce detailed entailments, phrases in the (TT) substitute structural elements of the fundamental conceptual schema in the (ST). For example:

4. SL TL1        TL2

                “The triumphant Allies continued to assert that they would squeeze Germany “till the pipes squeaked’” (Churchill, 1948, 5).                 لذلك استمر الحلفاء بتبجحهم بانهم سيستمرون في عصر المانيا حتى "يسمع صرير انابيبها" وبالتالي تختنق )دار المعرفة، 2007،ص8).     وظل الحلفاء يؤكدون انهم سيخنقون المانيا حتى يرتفع صراخهامن قبضتهم الشديدة (شلبي، 1970،ص11).

3- In the TT, a metaphor is more detailed.

4- Different metaphorical expressions used by ST and TT can be combined to

      form a more abstract mental metaphor.

5- A different side of the conceptual metaphor is reflected in the TT,

    for instance:

5. SL TL

The whole life-energy of the greatest nations had been poured out in wrath and slaughter” (Churchill, 1948, 5).          وقد انصهر في لظاها ما ادخرته الشعوب العظمى من طاقات الحياة (شلبي،1970،ص).

13. The Translation of Churchill’s Diary “Second World War”

Through our investigation of metaphorical translations located in Churchill’s book titled Second World War we noticed that the translator tends to use free translation which imposes that sometime the translator renders the metaphorical expression of the source text into equivalent metaphorical expression or sometimes into literal expression resulted from unaware of the translator of the metaphorical expressions based on the strategy that he follows and the possibility of lacking the equivalent words or expression in the target text. For example (Churchill, 1948, 5):

Discussion

    This paper is based on a conceptual approach to analysing implicit metaphors rather than adopting a conventional method to understand metaphors. In translating diaries, the translator may adopt appropriate translation methods that are suitable to the text type. Akan and others mention that Idioms, Proverbs, Metaphors, and other similar terms can be translated appropriately by using a one-to-one literal translation, in which each word or phrase in the source language is translated into a corresponding word or phrase in the target language with the same grammatical class and type of language. They add that free translation, in which the words, structure and grammar rules of the source documents are transferred to the target language as much as possible, is better than literal translation, and by using free translation the translator reproduces the general meaning of the original document (Akan et al., 2019, 21). For example (Churchill, 1948, 5). [rendered by Aiman M. Adel, Dar El M’arefa].

 Conclusion

This paper presents a comparative study of translating various types of English Metaphors or Metaphorical Expressions found in eight texts taken from Churchill's diary. The focus was on the way the translator follows to translate the metaphorical expressions in different political and historical texts. These phrases were selected based on the patterns they create when combined with other nouns, verbs, and adjectives. The study concludes that the translation of metaphorical expressions in historical and political texts takes different forms due to the strategy that the translator follows and the local, cultural, and socio-political factors that govern the translator and affect his translation at the same time. Thus, in order to establish translation equivalency between the source and target texts, translators should take these aspects into account while translating metaphors from one language into another.

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